Gathering table



`March 26, 1940. .2. M. Low

I GATHERING TABPE Filed sept* fs,v 1938 March 26,1940. J, M '..Qw y 2,194,802

GATHERING TABLE Filad Sept. 6, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2" 'INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

, 3o sion being made both for extreme simplicity and attachment and removal in the manner indi- 3o o Fig 1; of, in lthis case i'lve of such stacks, V20,'2I, 22, 23, 4()

' 55 long in order that an operator may stand while bins lled. In operation the workman sitting in -55 Patented Mar. 26, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEv GATHERING TABLE i John Low, Evanston, Ill. Application September 6, 1938, SerialNo. 228,505 4 claims. (oil al1-128)' My invention relates to apparatus for gathergathering, or that may be short to adapt the ing copies of printed or other matter. rack to rest on a desk or table.

In printing and reproducing establishments, it Erected on the support I0 are bins constructed, is customary to produce separate sheets of printed` in this case, by'providing a section of metal and 5 matter that may go to make up a complete job, bending one end of it at an acute angle to prosuch as a pamphlet, advertising matter, etc., vide the inclined portion I2 and the substantially each sheet being printed in the requisite num- 'vertical portion I3. Angle. pieces I4 acting as ber of copies. Thereafter it is necessary to asattaching means .are riveted to the support III semble the respective pages for binding and this and to the vertical portion.

l0 is a laborious and rather expensive piece of work. The parts are .so proportioned that the upper 10 It has been customary to arrange stacks of the ends of the portions I3 and the angle pieces III printed sheets in succession on a long table, the underlie and support the inclined portions I2 at operator walking the length of the table suca point substantially midway between .their ends. cessively picking up one sheet from each pile. .At the extremelower end a brace I5 accomplishes In other cases, automatic gathering machinery this purpose. Stacks of paper indicated at I6 l5 has been devised and has been successful where are shown in the respective bins, this illustrating 1 the amount of such work warrants the relatively the fact i that because of the V-shaped lower great capital expenditure representing the cost ends of the bins, the stacks of paper are of the machine. However, in smaller estab1ish` feathered at their free edges, lthus facilitating ments that have occasion to gather pieces of work the gathering and simplifying the removal of 20 comprising anywhere up to one hundred pages, the topsheets from the stacks. no apparatus is available that would render such It is desirable that the outer or exposed edges work less fatiguing or expensive and it is an of the stacks of paper should` be in the relation object of my invention to provide simple appa to the bins as shown on Fig. l, and this will not ratus in which manual labor is utilized as disoccur where sheets of different sizes are to be 25 tinguished from automatic machinery, the ap, aSSmbld In GI'deI t0 bring this ab011t ,-I DTO- paratus being arranged to facilitate economy, vide, as shown at the extreme lower end of the both in time and in physical effort. Several Stack in Fig. l, aS Well aS in Figs. 3 and 4, a Supdiierent forms of apparatus are disclosed, proviplelnental Wall l". and adapt SuCh Wall fOr rea-dy Afor more elaborate apparatus as different needs Gated; 'that iS t0 Say, the inclined Wall IZ'haS a are found. series of Tshap ed notches I8 therein, adapted to The invention will be more readily understood be engaged by a' 111g '9 Struck out from the ma- Y by reference t() the accgmpanying drawings, in telll 0f the plate Th'llS the Wall .may bf2 which; readily placed in any one of the notches 1n order v35 Fig .1 is a. side-elevation 0f, apparatus 0f exto accommodate sheets of diierent widths. treme simplicity, but in which I utilize the novel In the Construction ShQWn in Figs- 5 and 6, the bins or paper receptacles 0f my invention; stacks of bins may be similar to the stack shown Fig 2 v1S a Sectional View on the une 2 2 of in Fig. 1. However, I provide a plurality there- 24, arranged symmetrically about a center point, a table 25 for receiving the gathered stock being located as shown. While the apparatus shown Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section illustrating an adaptation to accomplish sheets of different sizes in Fig. 5 may be utilized by an operator merely Flg 41s a composite vl-ew Showmg the methfd standing in one spot, I have considered it pref- 45 of attachment of a upplemental Vertical Wall. erable to provide a seat 26 rotatable on a pedestal Fg- 5 is a plan new .of more dabomte appa' 21 andcarrying as a part of the seat structure mtus comprising a plurality of Stacks (.f bins a table 2B. 'I'his table is preferable slightly in' combined With a rotatable chair; and i clined and provided with a vertical iiange 29 at Fig- 6 iS an elevaliOn taken 0n the 11n@ 5-5 0f its inner end. Thus the operator may drop onto 50 Fi8 5, the table the sheets collected from' each of the In the drawings and referring pallSlCUlally t0 `stacks,discharging the sheets so collected onto Figs. 1 and 2, I have illustrated an inclined supthe table 25 where they will be removed by an port I Il having legs II which may be relatively attendant. The attendant will likewise keep the the chair can reach the' topmost bin,

It is not intended in the apparatus shown to attempt to illustratev all the diierent forms that mightV be devised for accomplishing the result and I 'do not wish to be limited except .as indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A gathering systemcomprising in combination a plurality of stacksoi bins. each stack providing a stepped arrangement 0f the bins whereby each bin is arranged within convenient arms reach of an operator when in sitting position; said bins being arranged circularly around a central point, a support for an operator located at said central point and a tray movable with the operator.

2. A gatheringsystem comprising in combina,

tion a plurality of stacks of bins; each stack providing a stepped arrangement of the bins whereby each bin is arranged withinvconvenient arms reach of an operator `when in sitting position, said bins being arranged circularly around a central point, a support for an operator located at said central point and a tray movable with the operator, each o f said stacks and said table being readily movable whereby to expand or contract thev size of the gathering-unit to correspond 3. InA a 4gathering system adaptable for the gathering of varying numbers of sequential sheets. the combination of a plurality of stacks o! bins, each stack comprising a plurality of overlying, inclined.'` stepped receptacles composing said bins, each adapted to receive a plurality of duplicate sheets of the, matter to be gathered,

the bins of each stack being arranged to be within convenient reach without substantial body movement of an operator, said stacks of bins being arranged substantially equal distances from a central point, a receiving tray adapted to be movable with the operator, a receiving table located in a position substantially corresponding to that of one of the stacks.

4. In a gathering system adaptable for the gathering of varying numbers of sequential sheets, the combination of a plurality of stacks of bins, eachstack comprising a plurality of overlying, inclined, stepped receptacles composing said bins, each adapted to receive a plurality of duplicate sheets of the matter to be gathered.

the bins of each stack being arranged to be within convenient reach without substantial body movement of an operator, said stacks of bins being arranged substantially equal distances from a central point, a 'receiving tray adapted to be movable with the operator, a receiving table located in a position substantially corresponding to that of one of the stacks, each o! said stacks and said table being readily movable whereby to expand or contract the size of the gathering unit to correspond to the number of. sheets composing the matterv to be gathered.

' JOHN M. LOW. 

